title: Hypothermia in neurocritical care.
abstract: Hypothermia has long been recognized as an effective therapy for acute neurologic injury. Recent advances in bedside technology and greater understanding of thermoregulatory mechanisms have made this therapy readily available at the bedside. Critical care management of the hypothermic patient can be divided into 3 phases: induction, maintenance, and rewarming. Each phase has known complications that require careful monitoring. At present, hypothermia has only been shown to be an effective neuroprotective therapy in cardiac arrest survivors. The primary use of hypothermia in the neurocritical care unit is to treat increased intracranial pressure.
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurocritical Care, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Medical Center, 22 South Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. nbadjatia@umm.edu
authors.forename: Neeraj
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Badjatia
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000628:therapy; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced / Q000379:methods; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000628:therapy